Heart and Soul
by Kyogou
Summary: Axel finds his best friend staring off into the sunset of Twilight Town, mulling over questions he knows he can never find the answers to.


++ Heart and Soul ++

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Series/Game: Kingdom Hearts II

Pairing: AkuRoku (Axel/Roxas)

Rating: PG13 (for language and lots of sap)

Summary: Axel finds his best friend staring off into the sunset of Twilight Town, mulling over questions he knows he can never find the answers to.

"I've been having these strange thoughts lately… like, is any of this for real, or not…?"

Axel turned his head to glance over to the blonde beside him, jaded eyes alit with the sunset's amber glow as he himself pondered that very same question. They were Nobodies, beings without a heart… thus they could not feel emotion. They could not feel happiness, rage, or even great sorrow. It was a Nobody's fate to exist, only to fade away and leave nothing but an imprint of their desires.

"Dunno…" the redhead finally replied, looking back to the roofs that lined their familiar "home" of Twilight Town. Granted, they didn't particularly have a home to begin with… but over time, that one particular spot along the upper ridge of the clockwork tower had started to provide what they could only surmise as a sense of belonging. "Knowing what we are and all… I'd be more apt to say that nothing here is real, you get what I'm saying? But it almost feels so real that it hurts."

"But if it hurts," Roxas pointed out with a small frown, "then wouldn't that suggest that we can feel things after all? We don't have hearts to feel with, so how come we can feel the pain?"

Axel allowed a bitter chuckle to resonate within his throat, "How would I know? I guess that's just the cruel irony of this whole thing though, the whole 'don't got no heart' deal. All the contradictions drive me crazy! How are we supposed to tell the difference between fantasy and reality?"

"We don't," the smaller male placed his elbows on his knees and allowed his legs to gently dangle back and forth off the clockwork tower.

"Touché," Axel scratched the back of his head. This was usually how things went between them nowadays. He'd find the blonde sitting in the same spot, staring off into nowhere and letting the coating of his sea-salt ice cream slowly dribble down his ebony glove. Then once the redheaded chakram user joined him, they delved into a series of unanswerable questions, each one taking turns to ponder the pointless until they were both exhausted and worn. It was no wonder that Roxas had slowly started to space himself away from the rest of the Organization. As a matter of fact, Axel was the only one that he seemed to really even bother with aside from taking orders from the Superior.

Roxas casually wiped his tongue across his lips to moisten them, as they'd began to crack just the slightest from being exposed to the gentle breeze, "Hey, Axel… you think we'll ever be able to have hearts?"

"Huh?" This made the other blink in subtle surprise, turning to once again look at his companion. "Roxas, we're Nobodies-"

"I know, I know…" the blonde frowned and waved a hand back and forth, knowing that the other was just going to state the obvious. "I mean theoretically speaking…"

Axel allowed a look of puzzlement wash over his features before he shrugged, leaning back against the tower and resting his gloved hands behind his head, "It really depends, in my opinion. So we lack physical hearts, right? I really don't think it's the physical presence of a heart that conjures emotions and all that shebang. I believe there's a slight difference between what most people see a heart as and… you know, more like a… like a spiritual heart, you know what I mean?"

"Sort of…" Roxas quirked an eyebrow, waiting for his friend to continue his explanation.

"So, it's more like the mind is in control of creating and stimulating any sort of feelings, right? And I know that both you and I have fully functional brains," Axel pointed out, lightly taping his foot against Roxas' leg with a grin. "Therefore, what use have we for a heart anyways?"

"It's… hard to explain, Axel. I guess there's just this sense of comfort when the heart connects with another, like a familiar warmth…"

"Hey now, why do you want the warmth from a heart when you've got an awesome friend like me? I'm all the fire and flames you'll ever need, baby!" Axel fisted a hand and brought it down in a triumphant manner, his rather flamboyant and comical personality showing.

Roxas just rolled his eyes at him and lightly smacked him upside the head.

"Oww… Damn, Roxas, you're so cruel," the redhead teased and rubbed the back of his neck in a casual manner.

The blonde shook his head, "And you're such an idiot."

Axel's lips curled into a fond smile and he reached over to catch his friend in a headlock and ruffle his hair, not that it really changed the untamed hair much. The blonde squawked indignantly, "Axel! C-cut that out!"

"Aw come on, Rox. Let me play a little, would ya?" cackled the chakram user, but decided to show some mercy and released Roxas from his grip. "You're just too fun to tease, you know? And you're so damn cute when you blush…"

"I-I do not blush!" Roxas replied with a glare, though there definitely was a hint of a flush starting to rise on his cheeks. His companion only grinned at him even more.

The redhead shook his head and rested gloved digits behind his head, lacing them together while he leaned back to use the familiar clock tower to steady his bodyweight, "Hey, Roxas…"

"Now what is it?"

"I'm not sure if my opinion means anything, but… I think you have a heart."

Roxas turned and stared at him in puzzlement as he arched an eyebrow, "What's… that supposed to mean?"

Axel's face melted into a rather gentle smile as he turned and looked up to the sunset that was quickly vanishing into twilight, "It means you're special… you are a part of the key blade bearer, after all. Out of any of us, you show the most signs… but I must say, meeting you and hanging around you has given me the feel of.. what it might be like to have a heart."

"That's not possible… we've been over this before, Axel. We're _nobodies. What makes you think tha-"_

_The one peaceful features on the redhead's face soon turned rather serious-looking, jaded eyes flickering with a mysterious hue. "Roxas… you've been put here for a reason, and even if you and I aren't aware of what that reason is yet, there's no doubt that it's got some sort of connection to your key blades. No one has ever wielded two before… it's for reasons like that that I believe you're different from us."_

_Roxas' brows furrowed as he looked over the tops of the buildings in their familiar Twilight Town, though they wavered when his gaze was drawn back to the redhead's face… then to the gloved hand that had come to rest upon his own. Without even giving it much thought, their fingers laced with the gentleness of feathery goose down._

"_You make me feel… like I actually have a heart," Axel smiled at him again and eased the other to lean against his shoulder, to which Roxas glared at him just a little before giving in and allowing the side of his face to press to the spot with a sigh. Even though he didn't exactly agree with what his partner was telling him, deep down he understood where it was coming from. Together, they had shared so many precious memories… and to share those memories would be to feel them in their hearts._

"_Y-yeah…" Roxas finally managed to get a word out of his mouth, having his head riddled with so many questions and his chest somewhat heavy. He knew there would come a day when their peaceful moments like these would come to and end, and he knew that Axel could sense it too… he only hoped that that time didn't come to soon._


End file.
